Dark Secrets
by Sandyfire
Summary: Cats from all the clans have begun to disappear. When they die, they are never found in StarClan or the Dark Forest. So what happens to them? And what is the real story behind the dreams-or rather, nightmares-that seem to be causing these deaths? There's only one cat who has survived this strange dream... and even he is changed.
1. Strange Eyes

**A/N: So, this is the first story I've ever posted on this site! I would really appreciate it if you took the time to review. Also, if you want your cat in the story, just include the name of your cat, gender, looks, and personality and I'll include them. I hope you guys enjoy!**

"Wake up, Finchpaw," the voice was soft, soothing, and almost convinced the young medicine cat apprentice to obey the words. His eyelids fluttered for a brief second, against Finchpaw's will. Quickly, he shut them tight again. There was no way he was opening his eyes, not when it was that horrid voice greeting him.

"No." Finchpaw struggled to his paws, eyes still closed tightly. Backing away swiftly, he persistently went against the voice's will. The voice wasn't that of a StarClan cat. It was the voice of someone he knew when they had been alive. It was the voice of a cat that had been accepted into the Dark Forest

"Finchpaw," this time, Willowfang's voice was deceptively pained, as if she actually cared whether Finchpaw opened his eyes or not. "Please, Finchpaw, give me a second chance. It was wrong of me to leave you in the cold, abandoned. Open your eyes and I will give you a second chance. Please,"

Willowfang's words stabbed into Finchpaw's heart like a warrior's claws. _It was wrong of me to leave you in the cold, abandoned. Open your eyes and I will give you a second chance. Please._

No, Finchpaw reminded himself, keeping his eyes shut tightly. "I hate you," Finchpaw whispered. "I hate your existence. Please, go away, Willowfang."

The Dark Forest cat's next words were defensive. "Now, then, Finchpaw, is that any way to speak to your mother?"

"You," Finchpaw yowled in anger. His fury spilled out of his mouth and into his words. "You are NOT my mother!" His eyes flew open, and his claws unsheathed. He was no warrior, but he was ready to fight this cat, and cause her second death.

Opening his eyes was a mistake. Willowfang's eyes had changed. They weren't the same icy blue they had been when she had been in ThunderClan. This time, they swirled between colors, as if they couldn't make up their mind. One moment they were red, then they faded into pink, then purple or blue or green.

Finchpaw was captivated. He couldn't look away. Willowfang took a step closer to him, and even though every instinct told him to run, the medicine cat apprentice stayed where he was at. His legs refused to work, though his heart began to pound louder.

"There we are, Finchpaw," Willowfang said, a trace of a snarl lining her voice. "You're finally learning to obey your mother, aren't you? I told you I would give you a second chance." Her lips curled in a cold smile. "And now you get one. Stay put, please. If you move, I will personally kill you. And nobody wants that."

Finchpaw strained his eyes, trying to look away. Even joining StarClan's ranks would be better than whatever Willowfang had in store for him. But the swirling voids that served as Willowfang's eyes were impossible to look away from. He was being forced to gaze into the massive pits. Strangely, they seemed to grow and grow as Willowfang stepped closer and closer to the ThunderClan apprentice…

Something heavy and hard rammed into Finchpaw's side. He was thrown away from Willowfang, into the dead brown grass a fox-length away. Hissing, Willowfang spun to face the furry mass that had butted Finchpaw away.

"Run!"

Finchpaw drearily got to his paws, head spinning. "Who are you?" He wondered. His eyesight was still blurry from staring into Willowfang's swirling pits for so long.

"I'm a cat who's here to save you, and who's telling you to get out of this place!" The cat snapped. By his voice, Finchpaw could tell it was a tom. Even though his world was still spinning, Finchpaw could make out tiny pinpricks of light in the matted gray pelt.

"You're a StarClan cat?" He said again, persistently. He had to find out who had saved him from the awful fate he had been promised.

The gray tom hesitated. "Yes," he spoke quickly, a growl in his throat as he faced Willowfang. "Now GO!"

Finchpaw hesitated only a moment longer, and then turned tail and blindly ran. He had no idea where he was going. All he knew was that he was getting away from Willowfang and her horrible promises.

So many questions flew through his mind as he ran. Who was the gray StarClan tom? Would Willowfang fight him? What would happen if she won?

And the question that pestered him most, was "What would have happened if Willowfang had given me the second chance?"


	2. Battle at the Moonpool

**Dreams of Hope Faith and Love-** _Yes they do! ^_^ You'll have to see what, though! And thank you so much! Also thanks for being my first ever review!  
_**Guest- **_Thank you, thank you, thank you, for all your kind words! I'm so glad you liked it! Thank you for your OC, she will be included within the next couple of chapters! :D  
_**Blue MoonHeart123-** _Of course I remember you, you're the person who inspired me to make an account! How could I forget you? ^_^ Thank you for your kind words!_

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"Finchpaw, are you okay?"

Finchpaw gasped, his eyes opening wide, and his paws scrabbling at the slippery surface beneath them as he struggled to get up. "Where am I?" He screeched, flinching away from a tail that had rested on his shoulder comfortingly. "Get away from me!" he hissed, almost as an afterthought.

"Finchpaw, calm down!"

Eyes wildly scanning the area around him, Finchpaw tried to figure out where he was. Stone walls towered up on three sides of him, and ancient paw prints were etched deep into the surface of the cold rock. A shimmering pool lay in the center of the—was this a cave?—as if stars danced on its surface.

Three other cats, two of them at least 20 moons of age, and another one about Finchpaw's age, rested peacefully, their noses touching the water. Dreams of herbs and starlight seemed to dance in their heads, rather than the nightmare-ish scenes Finchpaw had encountered.

He turned back to the cat that had confronted him. She had black, slightly fluffy fur, and yellow eyes that stared questioningly at him. "Finchpaw, are you okay?" She repeated. Was that fear in her glowing bright eyes? "What do you mean? It's me, Moonsage. You are at the Moonpool… it's the Half-Moon? Don't you remember?"

Finchpaw was panting, claws unsheathed as he readied himself for an attack. This time, the StarClan cat wasn't here to protect him from the horrors. He was on his own. "Lies," he spat, his eyes still wild. "Tell me the truth!"

Moonsage backed up two steps, and Finchpaw could definitely see the fear in her eyes now. "What are you talking about? I am telling you the truth."

Finchpaw growled deep in his throat. He neared her, circling the black she-cat. Was she actually telling the truth? And if so, why couldn't he remember? No, she was lying. She had to be. If this 'Moonsage' had been telling the truth, then he would have remembered such a thing. "It's me," she squeaked. "It's Moonsage, I'm your mentor. I'm the ThunderClan medicine cat, and you're my apprentice."

_ThunderClan. _

The name was like a cat's attention-seeking yowl in his head. He recognized that name, but couldn't quite put his claw on what it meant. "ThunderClan," he muttered, eyes still clouded over with anger. "What's ThunderClan?"

Moonsage glanced desperately behind Finchpaw, her face twisted in a confused snarl, as if warning someone behind him. Finchpaw whipped around to see the smaller cat, the one his age, staring at him.

"F-Finchpaw, are you alright? I mean… not remembering your own clan, and then attacking Moonsage…"

Finchpaw, scowling, bounded over to the tiny she-cat and bowled her over. He kept one claw on her stomach, and glared at her. "I told you, I have no idea who you cats are, or what this 'ThunderClan' you're talking about is, but I want answers. And I mean real answers, not the pathetic excuses you're giving me now."

The tiny she-cat writhed under his grasp. "Stop it, Finchpaw," she begged. "You're hurting me! It's me! I'm your best friend, remember? Berrypaw of WindClan? We're training together!"  
"WindClan?"

"It's my clan, please let go, you're hurting…"

Before she could finish speaking, Finchpaw was sent flying across the cave floor by a black-furred creature. It was Moonsage, there to save the innocent apprentice. "Look," Moonsage snarled, suddenly looking very ferocious. "I have no idea what you're talking about, but if it's a prophecy that StarClan gave you, then I need to know, right now." Her own claws were unsheathed, and as she approached Finchpaw, Berrypaw skittered onto her own paws, silently begging with Finchpaw.

For some reason, the word "StarClan" sent an uncomfortable feeling through his body. It was one of those feelings when he wasn't sure whether he should despise something, or love it. Anger and fury built up over those emotions as he leapt at Moonsage.

"Liar!" He screamed, landing on her back with claws unsheathed. "Cold-hearted liar!"  
Berrypaw screamed and raced over to the two cats with their noses still dipped in the lake, oblivious to the chaotic scene. "Wake up!"

"Get off of me!" Moonsage flipped over onto her back, causing Finchpaw to be crushed by her weight. He managed to squirm out from underneath her, and sprung at her underbelly while it was still unprotected.

Moonsage managed to flip over onto her back again just in time, and Finchpaw's claws caught only a tuft of black fur. She got to her paws in one graceful movement, and sunk her fangs into his scruff, intent on snapping him out of his daze.

"Don't hurt him, please!" Berrypaw managed from her position by the still-slumbering medicine cats. "He's not himself, it isn't Finchpaw!"

Moonsage halted mid-bite. It was obvious by the little pressure she was applying that she hadn't been planning on hurting her young apprentice, but only defeating him. Her own wounds were bleeding on her back, but she didn't seem to be in too much pain. "I know," she murmured, the spark of battle fading.

"Are you hurt, Moonsage? I can find herbs quickly, and if I can ever get these two awake…"

"Don't awaken them." Moonsage said sternly. "You forget that I was a warrior before I became a medicine cat. I will be fine."

Hesitating, Berrypaw gave a small nod. "What will you do with Finchpaw?"

"For now, I'll bring him back to ThunderClan. He seems to have hit his head on the rock for now, so it shouldn't be too hard of a feat. Tell your mentor where I've gone. Hopefully Wildstar will know what to do."

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**A/N: Warriors does not belong to me, it belongs to Erin Hunter, but so far, all characters are the product of my imagination. However, you can still keep sending in characters through pm or comment! Thank you for all your reads and reviews, they mean a lot to me as a writer. What's going on with Finchpaw, do you think? **


	3. Frostwhisker's Fate

**Hey guys, it's me again! Hopefully nobody's forgotten about this story yet. This chapter isn't really written well... at all. But it's 12:13 am, so I guess that's to be expected. I won't bother making excuses... I've been flat out lazy. Hopefully this will make up for it, and I'm going to start updating on a weekly basis now! Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: Erin Hunter owns full rights to the original Warriors series, this is merely a fan fiction based off of those brilliant books.  
Now... on to the reviews!**

**Blue Moonheart123- **_Hehe, I guess you'll see in this chapter! He sort of half got them swiped...  
_**Commander Nightmare- **_I love your new username, first of all. I'm not sure whether you mean the name is strange or the cat is strange, but Moonsage isn't a normal cat. Her character will be developed more in the future, so you'll learn more about that. Thank you for submitting a cat!  
_**Guest- **_Wow! That's a really good guess! Sorry about not updating soon... but here you go! Better late than never, right?  
_**Spottedjay- **_Thank you! It means a lot to me!_

**Also thank you guys so so SO much for reviewing! It means a lot to me that you take the time to read and review my book!  
Phew, sorry for dragging that on so long, but without further ado, here goes!**

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Finchpaw's eyes were half-open, but he was too exhausted to do anything but weakly bat his paws at Moonsage. "Moonsage, what are you doing?" He growled. A spurt of blood tore from Moonsage's nose as Finchpaw's unsheathed claws hit her, and he gasped in horror, quickly sheathing his claws again. "I'm sorry, Moonsage, I didn't realize… oh my goodness, did I hurt you?"

Moonsage looked at him oddly, her fur rising. "What do you mean 'you didn't realize'?"

For a moment, Finchpaw wondered at the hostility in her voice. Then, all the memories came back… the skirmish near the Moonpool, the strange feelings stirring up inside of him… such anger, and loss. And he knew exactly where they had come from.

"Fox dung," he cursed, as Moonsage dropped her grip on his scruff. He scrambled to his paws, still in shock of what had happened. "Moonsage, listen, you don't understand… something terrible has happened."

"No, that much I understand," Moonsage said. "But what I don't understand is exactly what happened back there."

"Oh," Finchpaw squeaked, suddenly intimidated. As Moonsage had said before, she had once been a powerful warrior. Finchpaw was no match for his mentor when it came to battle. "That,"

"Did you think I was speaking of something else?"

"Well," Finchpaw squirmed uncomfortably, unsure whether he should tell his mentor or not. "I know what happened, but you don't get it… that wasn't me. It was…" he thought for a moment. "I don't remember." He was telling the truth about that much. "I don't know… It wasn't me, that much I know for sure."

Finchpaw was interrupted by a yowl. He glanced over at Moonsage, eyes wide in horror. "What was that?" he breathed, startled.

Moonsage's face was stone hard, revealing no emotion. "That," she mewed, "Was Berrypaw. That yowl came from the Moonpool… let's go!"

Finchpaw didn't question her orders. He followed Moonsage, tail swishing along the ground as he attempted to keep up with her quickened pace. Breaths coming out in short pants and blood from his paws leaving a trail behind him, the tom raced on, not looking back.

As soon as they made it back to the Moonpool, they were greeted by an awful sight. Berrypaw glanced over at them, desperation clear in her eyes. "Thank StarClan you came…" she said. "Moonsage, you have to help them…"

Frostwhisker, ShadowClan's medicine cat was writhing on the ground. Her feet were pedaling, like she was trying to run away from something, and from her twisted face, it was obvious she was in great pain or danger… and being pursued by someone or something that was going to inflict further pain.

"Berrypaw," Moonsage snapped. "See if you can find an herb that will help them."

Berrypaw's eyes were wide and terrified. "But, Moonsage…"

"Go! Now!"

Finchpaw glanced up at his mentor. "Moonsage…" he hated to break it to her, but he knew that the ThunderClan medicine cat had to know the truth. "No herb can save her now. She'll be walking with StarClan soon enough, whether Berrypaw finds a proper herb or not."

"I know," Moonsage sighed, stepping closer to Frostwhisker. "I didn't want her to see Frostwhisker's death. Medicine cats have to deal with injuries and death all the time," she continued quickly, knowing Finchpaw was going to argue, "but this…" Frostwhisker's feet stopped pedaling, but her mouth continued to foam. She looked as if she was trying to pull her eyelids open, but they were stuck in place. Moonsage ran her tail along the younger medicine cat's back, gently. "This is no ordinary death."

Frostwhisker fell completely still. Her chest stopped heaving, and the white she-cat lay in a motionless heap by the Moonpool.


	4. The Only Cure

**A/N: I was just hit by a whole bunch of ideas for this today! And I'm one of those people who rarely get good ideas. So, if there are alot of updates this week that would be why! The lack of updates recently has been because of writer's block, so now that that's cured this fan fic can be continued, yay! **

**Blue Moonheart123- **_Yeah. :( Thank you so much for all your reviews by the way! It means a lot to me that you take the time to review and read my book!__** 4**_

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"No," There was a low, desperate cry from behind Finchpaw and Moonsage. "No, this can't have happened… she can't be…"

Finchpaw turned around to catch sight of Berrypaw's crumpled face. "I'm so sorry, Berrypaw."

"But I'm still just an apprentice," Berrypaw murmured. Her face portrayed the sadness they were all feeling. Forlornly setting down the herbs she had collected, Berrypaw turned to gaze at Moonsage. "Who will become the next medicine cat? How will I train?" She sniffled sadly.

"You will." Moonsage said, determined.

"I will…?"

"You'll become the next medicine cat," Moonsage clarified with a twitch of her whiskers. "And you will be trained. I shall walk with StarClan again tonight, to request of them a mentor for you."

"Will I be trained by StarClan?" Berrypaw asked hopefully. "I don't want to disrespect Frostwhisker's training, but I…"

"But you need a mentor," Finchpaw finished for her, looking up at Moonsage. "It's the best idea Moonsage. Neither you, Streamtooth, nor Owlwing would be able to provide proper training."

"Owlwing and Streamtooth," cursed Moonsage, bounding over to the sleeping medicine cats. Somehow they had not been woken up by all the commotion. How that was even possible, Finchpaw didn't know, but Moonsage seemed to have a clue. The ShadowClan medicine cat's paws had begun to twitch, and Finchpaw stiffened.

Moonsage shoved him roughly with her front two paws, but the tom slept on. "I'm sorry," she muttered to Owlwing. She clamped down hard on one of his paws. Yowling, the tom bolted upright.

"Streamtooth!" The RiverClan tom was seemingly still sleeping peacefully, but there was no way any chances were going to be taken. "Wake up!"

Streamtooth was broken out of his dream first of all by the shouting in his ears, and second of all by the loud yowl that Owlwing emitted. "Moonsage, have you lost your mind?" he hissed irritably. The poor tom was old enough to join the elder's den, but had yet to find an apprentice.

"Frostwhisker is dead," Moonsage spoke to both of them in even tones. "Berrypaw needs a new mentor, and I'm planning on finding one tonight amongst StarClan. If I am unable…" she trailed off, discontinuing her sentence. "Never mind that. I will be perfectly able."

"Dead?" Owlwing stiffened, suddenly glad that all he had gotten was a sharp bit to his paw. "How?" His eyes narrowed suspiciously. "It wasn't _you_ who killed her, was it?"

"Of course it wasn't her!" Berrypaw spoke up, almost choking on her grief as she did so. "She tried to help my mentor! She just…"

"Moonsage wasn't fast enough," Finchpaw spoke up boldly. He always felt intimidated by the cranky tom.

"There was nothing I could do," Moonsage corrected her apprentice.

"What happened?" Streamtooth's voice was gentler than his ShadowClan comrade's was.

"I don't know," Moonsage admitted. "But something similar was happening to Finchpaw, when I woke him up. And you were in the early stages, Owlwing. I think the only cure for this strange disease is waking up."


	5. Patch

**A/N Sorry for the late chapter! It took me awhile to write this one, and it's the longest yet in this story, at 1.3k. I tried to get it up as quickly as possible, but as a result I haven't revised it yet. You have been warned. Ack, it's probably terrible. _ I'm writing in a new POV, so meet Patch! His story probably seems very vague and not well thought out, but if you have guesses, review! :D Speaking of reviews, I was so happy and excited when I saw the number of reviews I got! **

**Leafshine24- Thank you so much for your encouragement and kind words! They mean a lot to me. Your OC will probably appear in either the next chapter or the one after that! Same with all the other OC's that have been submitted!**

**Spottedmoth123- Thank you very much! :D It means alot coming from the author of one of my favorite fan-fics!**

**Blue Moonheart123- Thanks so much! I love getting your reviews, your my most loyal reviewer, and honestly, I probably would have quit writing this story if it weren't for your loyal reviews! (Luckily I'm getting more and more ideas so that danger has passed... I hope.)**

**Finchsong101-Thank you so much for reading and reviewing! It means alot!**

**Commander Nightmare- Oh, sorry. Oops. Maybe I should go back and change the name? I feel like it's too late for that though, but again, sorry, I know how annoying that can be. Thanks a ton for reviewing! And it's not Owlwing who's the cure XD**

**Guest- Mwahaha. You'll have to see... Here is your longer chapter! Also, thanks so much for reviewing! :D **

**Without further ado...**

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Patch woke up. His little eyes fluttered open, and there was a collective gasp from around him. "Mama…" he mumbled, weakly battering her with his paws. "Mama, get off me, stop it…"

His mother, a ginger and white she-cat was covering him in fierce licks. "Patch… we all thought you were dead! I mean, Ginger said she saw the fox kill you herself! How did you… never mind that, all that matters is that you're back."

"Flower," there was a deep rumble, and Flower, Patch's mother, flinched. She slowly turned around, shielding Patch's still-broken body. It seemed his revival hadn't lasted forever. Her eyes flashed with menace, intent on protecting her only kit.

"What is it, Thorn?" she whispered quietly. Still on edge, she backed up to her kit again, and Thorn, her mate, walked closer.

"After we hold Patch's burial ceremony, we must leave. Ginger said she saw another patrol of those cats again… there were six of them this time, and they were all screeching. She says one of them appears to be dead…"

A small ginger head appeared behind Thorn. Her paw steps had been near silent, and both of the cats in front of her had been too collected in their own separate thoughts to pay much attention to anything else. "…and they were talking about some disease. You don't think it could spread do you? Mama, I'm scared."

"The burial for Patch won't be nessacary, Thorn," Flower said, carefully stepping aside. Patch watched as his littermate, and his Father's eyes both grew wide with shock.

"Patch….?" Whispered Thorn, his voice on the brink of disbelieving. "That's not possible, Flower."

"I'm alive," Patch insisted to his father. "Really, I am." He was greatly confused. Why would anyone think differently?  
"But I thought the fox killed you!"

Patch tried desperately to remember what had happened. Bits and pieces of the memory returned, like a trickle of a stream. Yesterday, Patch, Ginger, Thorn, and Flower had been walking, when they had seen a patrol of two younger cats and four older cats nearing the place where Patch's family usually slept.

_"Retreat," Thorn snapped, backing away from the pond in the middle of the area. "It's Half-Moon, remember? These cats come every Half-Moon without fail. They're part of the viscous forest cats. Remember, you mustn't go near them, and you mustn't ever drink the water in the pond."_

_It seemed like a rather lengthy speech each time Thorn reported it, and if it had been any other time, Patch would have ignored him, but this time, he stared guiltily down at his paws. He had disobeyed his family's greatest rule… never drink the water. He had lapped at it… he hadn't consumed much, but even today his tummy felt a little funny. _

_"Never mind that," Flower snapped at her mate. "Who cares about drinking the water now? We have to get away from those cats before they hurt us!"_

_Rushing away, the four cats cowered in a cave near their old home. When morning came, they would return, but until then, they would sleep in the cave. That had been the plan, until Thorn had halted them with a flick of his tail. Giggling, Ginger tried to pounce on his twitching tail tip as she always did, but this time, Thorn was not amused. _

_"Fox," he whispered. "The scent is fresh, we aren't safe here either. If we sleep, it might get us. I can't afford to lose any of you."_

_"Well then, I'll take first watch," Flower bravely offered. _

_Before Thorn could deny or accept her request, the beast leapt out from the shadows, russet fur gleaming as the starlight hit its back. "RUN!" Flower yowled, ushering her kits out of the cave towards the bushes before facing the creature with her mate by her side. _

_Ginger cowered by Patch, her breathing scared and shallow. Comfortingly, Patch pressed against her side, trying not to show how frightened he was. He had to stay strong for his sister. Cries of agony came from the cats, and Patch recognized the voice of his mother. The fox hadn't yowled once… it was winning._

_"I have to help them," Patch said. He gave his sister's ear one more lick before bolting out of the bushes. _

_"Patch, back inside the bushes, hurry!" Flower said. She was cornered by the fox, facing the bushes in order to get the fox to turn its back to the two kits. Thorn was creeping up from behind, but his plan was foiled when the fox whipped its head around at the swish in the leaves. _

_"No," chest puffed out in pride, Patch took another step forward. "I'm going to help you fight!"_

_Flower slashed at the fox's cheek to get it to turn around again, and then dove under its belly in order to rake her claw's down its underside. It sidestepped easily, but ran into Thorn on its way. _

_"This battle is no place for a kit of 5 moons to be! If you must, protect your sister, but don't rile up the fox any more than…"_

_Thorn was interrupted by the fox's big fangs landing on the air next to his ear. Patch didn't hesitate to help his father. He leaped in the air, planning on landing on the fox's back, but instead he fell just short. Body hitting the ground with a thump, Patch groaned and black ants crawled over his eyes, blurring his vision. Worse, his tummy had started to hurt again. _

_"Patch!" Thorn clawed and bit the fox, but nothing distracted it from its prey. It's fangs wrapped around the kit's fragile body and was about to crunch it in two. Another fox approached out of the darkness, this one even bigger than the last. _

_"Flower!" Thorn screamed. Patch couldn't see anything, but he assumed that Flower was being attacked by the fox. He blacked out, his stomach flaring with pain, and woke in a dark forest. There was one cat, and she gently called his name. _

_"How am I here?" He had time to wonder, before he looked at the cat and…_

…And that was all he remembered. The rest of it was fuzzy. "I was just sleeping," Patch insisted. "It was a funny dream. One where I was in a forest, with other viscous cats like the ones who visit our home every Half-Moon."

Flower looked at him strangely. "You don't remember anything after that? After you escaped from the fox's grasp?"

"I did?" Patch blinked.

"You got away somehow. Your eyes looked a little weird, but I think it was the moonlight or something. You fought the fox off, but another one had appeared. Then the two cubs tried to attack Ginger, and we had to fight those off, leaving you to deal with the other one. We were pre-occupied, and couldn't save you,"

"I saw it myself!" Ginger piped up. "The fox clawed your throat out! Like this!" Ginger pounced on a leaf to demonstrate. Patch wasn't sure if she was exaggerating when she described the gruesome tale, but his throat felt fine, so he was pretty sure she was. "Well," she said sheepishly. "I think it clawed your throat out. Mom and Dad had chased off the other two cubs and they got in the way of my vision."

"Ginger!" Flower chided. "You didn't see anything at all, did you?"

Thorn purred in relief. "It seems you didn't die after all. But it's still very strange that a kit fought off a fully grown fox that Flower and I couldn't fight off."

"I told you, didn't I?" Patch got to his paws, proudly puffing out his chest again.

"Then there were some scary yowls from the forest cats, and a little one and a big one started to leave, but then they came back. It was confusing, so I decided to take a look with Dad," Boasted Ginger, wanting her own daring tale to be told.

"I think they might be gone now, though," Flower purred, licking her daughter's ears. "Let's get back home."

Patch followed them, but his father's words rung in his ears, confusing even him: "…it's still very strange that a kit fought off a fully grown fox." Exactly how had he done it?


End file.
